City of Saint John appoints Commissioner of Strategic Services

13-Aug-2013

Saint John Common Council is pleased to announce the appointment of Neil Jacobsen as the new Commissioner of Strategic Services. Mr. Jacobsen’s appointment was announced at the August 12 meeting of Common Council.

Mr. Jacobsen is scheduled to begin work with the City on September 4, 2013. He replaces Jacqueline Hamilton, who has been reassigned to the leadership role of Commissioner for the Growth and Community Development Services portfolio.

Currently Assistant Deputy Minister for the New Brunswick Department of Energy and Mines, Mr. Jacobsen’s career spans more than 20 years leading major policy and change initiatives at both the Provincial and local levels.

“Mr. Jacobsen brings significant depth in management expertise to the organization,” said Saint John Mayor Mel Norton. “He has excelled in his ability to collaborate with senior officials in other departments and other levels of government, private industry and various regulatory and community stakeholders.”

Mr. Jacobsen is familiar with the needs of Saint John citizens, having served in various roles that focused on economic growth in the greater Saint John area. Prior to assuming his responsibilities with the Province, he worked in a management capacity for the Saint John YMCA-YWCA Enterprise Centre, Business Development Bank of Canada, Saint John Waterfront Development Partnership and Enterprise Saint John. He also recently served as a volunteer on the steering committee responsible for the development of the True Growth 2.0 Economic Strategy for the greater Saint John region.

“Mr. Jacobsen will be an asset to the City’s senior leadership team; his strategic thinking skills and his passion and commitment to the Saint John community will serve him well in his new role,” adds Norton.

Mr. Jacobsen holds an MBA from the Ivey Business School at Western University and an undergraduate degree in Engineering from McGill University. He also grew up involved in a small family business, which instilled a lifetime commitment to service excellence, innovation and performance management.

About Strategic Services The Strategic Services team supports the organization in leading innovation and responding to the constant changes in our environment, economy and society. Organization and service goals are achieved by employing a strategic approach to effective communication; facilitating collaborative service delivery planning and policy development that engages the public in the decision-making process; managing relationships with other levels of government, communities and organizations; maximizing the use of information technology to support continuous improvement of service delivery; and building a high performance public service. Strategic Services plays a key role in championing organizational collaboration through the Senior Leadership Team and ensuring service delivery supports Council, Corporate Priorities and Strategic Plans. This area is also responsible for measuring and reporting to Council and citizens on organizational performance to improve accountability for service delivery.

Media Inquiries

Corporate Communications City of Saint John 11th floor, City Hall (506) 649-6008saintjohn.ca